Council hears proposal from Athletic Association; group hopes to improve local sports facilitiesBy Mary Kincy BenefieldReporter

POTTSVILLE - During a meeting that revealed some disagreement between the mayor, council and citizenry as to what improvements to local sports facilities might best serve the community, the Pottsville City Council agreed Monday night to hold off on approval of a plan for improving the city's ballparks submitted by the Pottsville Athletic Association (PAA).

The plan, outlined by association President Jim Coutts, called for improvements to the existing sports complex to include a new football field, three new softball fields and a marked parking lot to replace the existing unmarked gravel lot. The association's plan was inspired by the example of the facilities at Clarksville, where fields were named after corporations that contributed to their construction costs.

Mayor Jerry Duvall, while specifying that he was "all for" improving local facilities, and reminiscing about time he spent during the 1970s working on the construction of the current baseball and softball fields, expressed some doubt as to the feasibility of the association's vision. He noted that the existing plan may endanger a recently constructed walking trail and expressed concern over the possibility the plan may conflict with requirements set by a previous grant received by the city for improvements to the sports complex.

Coutts and other attending members of the association, however, felt that these were issues that could be managed, and assured the council they and other members of the community are willing to work to make their vision a reality.

"People are willing to give and donate, and get down there and work," Coutts said. "They see the good things that are going on."

The mayor and council agreed to look over the association's plan and to revisit the issue at a later meeting once they have had time to check on the previous grant requirements and to assess the needs of the sports community further.

The council also heard a request from Dana Warren, a representative of Equestrian Zone, a nonprofit organization providing equine-assisted therapy for children with disabilities, for a donation of city water to fill a horse pond. Equestrian Zone, which currently operates out of Chickalah, plans to relocate to a property at 4800 S. Frankfort Ave. in the near future. The location, which is in Russellville city limits but falls within the Pottsville water service area, will provide better service to local families, Warren said, as they will no longer be required to travel to receive therapy for their children.

The council, after determining the approximate cost to the city of the donation to be $100 and noting that the water will have to be transferred after 10 p.m. to avoid disruption of service to existing homes, approved Warren's request for up to 100,000 gallons.

In other business

The council also approved Resolution 07-E, a measure requesting the city be officially designated as a city of first class. A special census determined Pottsville's current population stands at 2,647, making the city newly eligible for the designation. The measure must now go to Secretary of State Charlie Daniels for approval.